Information Screens Go Blank

[Tampa01]

I took delivery of 2013 Limited last Wednesday. Yesterday, both LCD screens next to the speedometer quit working (both are now blank). Took Ex to dealer earlier today and they said they have never seen or heard of this happening before.

Has anyone else had this happen before?

 

[gdecamp]

First time I am seeing is problem mentioned on here.

 

[briteboy]

You might want to connect to "Services" thru MFT and contact operator assistance, and have her walk you thru a re-boot on the system.

It might help bring it back. I had a similar (but not exact) instance on mine, and the reboot (resetting to defaults) did the trick.

Although logic would dictate that all of the software updates were installed before you took delivery....they may not have been installed. You can register at Syncmyride.com and check to see if all of the updates are there.

Let us know how it goes.

Good luck.

 

[JCredo]

That's the first time I've heard someone having that issue.

 

[bamacommander]

My right LCD screen will not coordinate with the entertainment app. I will be playing a song via the USB and it will say audio off. They are replacing my radio/unit today and I have been told this will fix everything.

 

[VinceL]

Wasn't there a super old thread that talked about funky things happening to the little screens, like going black? If I remember correctly though, it was a small sample of early vehicles that were affected. Hmmm....

 

[Tampa01]

Dealership just called.... Ford advised them to replace the complete instrument cluster. Makes me a little nervous that they are going to have to pull the dashboard apart on a vehicle with less than 100 miles on it. Hope they do a good job of putting it back together.

 

[briteboy]

This may sound obvious, but then again if your dealer is anything like the one I have to deal with, it is not.

Before they tear apart your car, maybe it's something simple...like the the cable being unplugged or loose that feeds the screens ??? Perhaps they should verify the proper connections before they yank the dash...but I'm just saying...

Stranger things have happened on the assembly line. Just ask the guys at Chrysler that got drunk and high on pot during lunch everyday, while they were trying to assemble new cars. (I'm not saying that happens at Ford, but...)

 

[BigDog13]

All, had a similar problem with the My Touch screen. It went blank with about 200 miles on my 2013 Exp Ltd. Took it to the Local Ford dealer. The my touch screen rebooted and came on on the trip to the dealer. The dealer contacted some engineer at Ford and his suggestion was to disconnect the cell phone we had connected. Well, we disconnected the phone, rebooted the my Touch and have been trouble free since then. The Engineer said that some phones give the system problems. Ford has a list of cell phones that have been testes with the system. If you have a cell phone connected I would check to see if it's on the list.

 

[SJExplorer]

On my way home from picking up my daughter from soccer practice, the left digital display on my EX died. It is completely dead, no information, no sign of any screen activity, nothing! I called the dealership, and the receptionist told me she could get me in next Friday. The problem I have with that is that the left side display is all of the pertinent vehicle information. (amount of fuel left in the tank, high beam indicator, fog lights, trip information, etc.). I told her that wasn't good enough, and told her I would contact the Service Manager and the regional service manager, as I see this as more than an inconvenience. If I cant see how many miles I have driven, how can I even estimate how much fuel I have left?! She asked me to drop it off tomorrow, and they would get to it on Monday or Tuesday. That doesn't work for me, as we are driving 6 hours to western PA next week, and I need my truck or a loaner EX. I have 41K miles, but also have the Platinum ESP warranty. Last time I had to take it in, a FORD Dealer gave me a CHEVY Cobalt as a loaner. Needless to say I am a little pissed right now. The last time the Ford Customer Service folks on this site told me they would have the regional rep contact me, I never heard a word from them. If these issues (4 in the 3 months I have owned this CPO vehicle) continue, it may be time to go back to a better manufacturer.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Now i'm truly not trying to sound rude but what do you really expect from the dealership? If they are booked with repairs, they are booked with repairs. If your Esp covers a rental, then great, drop it off now and get a rental.

You can't honestly expect the dealership to make exceptions for every customer who has a mechanical issue (why you over person B or person C) and fix it immediately. Although it is a big inconvenience, at least your Ex is fully driveable. The worst possible scenario is you fill up every 3.5 - 4 hours of driving and that solves your fuel issue. RPM, trip meter etc are not a big deal.

Even if you get your Ex in, I'm almost positive that they wouldn't have a MFT display in (pending this is an internal issue and not a wiring issue - something came loose).

As far as a rental goes, most ESP's (at least Ford's) cover you for $30 per day. You won't get much more then a Cobalt, Corolla or Fiat (economy - small car). I have a $53k diesel truck as well (crew cab, 4x4) and I only get those econobox cars as well. The only way that you will get a bigger vehicle is if you pay the difference between what the ESP covers and the cost of the rental OR the rental agency has nothing but the next step up (mid size) at which they will charge the cheaper rate due to it being their problem.

I have never had a FORD rental car.. Most rental agencies go GM or Toyota for Fleet vehicles.

 

[182RG]

Now i'm truly not trying to sound rude

Rude!

Ignore him....

 

[peterk9]

I agree with blwnsmoke. Although this left screen issue would be a very frustrating one, especially when going on a trip, you can't expect the dealer to just drop everything and attempt to fix/diagnose that particular problem at the expense of delaying someone else's repair.
I am sure that there are other owners with vehicles in the shop who are just as eager to get theirs back. If I was in the same situation I would be very upset as well but there is not much that can be done about it. If the dealer is unable to provide the type of vehicle required for the trip, go and rent one that is suitable and send in the bill for reimbursement of the portion the ESP covers.
BTW, I don't think the post was rude at all. It was honest and to the point.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

I got a 2014 Sport with 3miles on it. I took it on a trip to Seattle and noticed my instrument panel would black out (lights turn off) anywhere from 10-20sec at random while driving. When the lights would come back on none of my settings were changed or anything, meanwhile all of the lights in the vehicle were still working including the touch screen ect and headlights. I actually found one thread mentioning a similar problem but I can no longer locate it which is why Im making this new thread. The other person mentioned they were not able to get it taken care of yet. I took mine into my dealership and told them about the issue. They said ford has a TSB out on this now and right now all they are doing is completely replacing the entire instrument panel. So i got mine replaced. If anyone else has had this issue you should go get yours replaced

Welcome to the Forum Airbornemaikai.:wavey:
Glad to see that your dealer is taking care of you. Hopefully this will fix the issue. I that this is the first post on the issue of all instrument panel lighting going out. There have been a couple of posts about one of the smaller information display screens going out but I haven't seen any update to that one yet.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393212&highlight=screen

Good luck with your new vehicle and happy motoring.

Peter

 

[MAbbottUSMC]

Are you talking about the two screens on each side of the speedo? Mine has gone out for about 10 second each time. I don't know if it had to do with the latest software update because I updated and had the problem the same day I bought the car.

 

[peterk9]

Yes. I would take it in and let them know about it. Mine already had the latest mft update installed. The dealer mentioned to me that about a month ago they did have a 13 Edge come in with the same issue. I actually had never experienced this on my 13 Explorer Limited though. Again the only thing they are doing is replacing the entire instrument cluster so they may have to order one. Apparently they are manufactured by Samsung and their is something faulty with the circuit boards in some of them. Good luck hope you get it taken care of

In my previous post I was under the impression that the entire instrument cluster/dash went out, including the speedometer. Since it has now been clarified that it is just the two information displays, I have moved your thread to this existing one. The other post that MAbbottUSMC is referring to is in the IVT forum.

Peter

 

[zips]

We had the left and right display go out last nite for about 10 seconds.

 

[foxtemple]

Are you still within the bumper to bumper warranty? If not, I'm curious how much this problem is too fix. Would this screen be covered under that program that ford sent a letter about [the one about extending the warranty of the computer unit or whatever]?

I feel like there should be a sticky on a thread where people just put what repairs they have had done and how much they paid [since a lot of our cars are getting up there in mileage].

 

[FordService]

We had the left and right display go out last nite for about 10 seconds.

Hi zips,

I recommend bringing this to the attention of your dealership so they can inspect. Additionally, I'd like to assist by getting your regional customer service manager involved. To get started, send me a PM with your name, phone number, mileage, VIN, and daytime phone number.

Are you still within the bumper to bumper warranty? If not, I'm curious how much this problem is too fix. Would this screen be covered under that program that ford sent a letter about [the one about extending the warranty of the computer unit or whatever]?...

Hi foxtemple,

Your dealership's service manager will be in the best position to determine which repairs can be made under warranty. They are also an excellent resource for getting repair estimates.

Crystal

 

[peterk9]

Are you still within the bumper to bumper warranty? If not, I'm curious how much this problem is too fix. Would this screen be covered under that program that ford sent a letter about [the one about extending the warranty of the computer unit or whatever]?

I feel like there should be a sticky on a thread where people just put what repairs they have had done and how much they paid [since a lot of our cars are getting up there in mileage].

The Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) is the so called 'brains' of the MFT system. I don't think it is involved with the 2 information display screen.

Peter